Anniversary under the stars
by Masaki-Hanabusa
Summary: Altenate version of the shooting star memory in Chapter 10 of Hidden. Little bit of Advanceshipping.


A/N: I wrote this scene as a memory in chapter 10 in my other story hidden, but I didn't go into too much detail. I liked the idea, so here it. It's has slight advanceshipping, just as a warning.

* * *

Satoshi, Takeshi, Haruka, Masato, and Pikachu were on their way to the next city for another gym battle and contest. The group had been exploring the region of Hoenn for some time now and they had all grown to become close friends. However, the group of trainers had to take a small stop for the night; it was too dark out to maneuver properly since the area was riddled with small hill, and Takeshi could just see one of them hurtling down one a hurting themselves. So for tonight, they would be staying at a nearby Pokemon center. It was convenient and they had gotten a room to share.

It was 8 o'clock and they were about to head upstairs to get a well deserved rest. Suddenly a beeping sound came from behind Nurse Joy's desk, and the red haired woman picked up the phone. Takeshi and Masato had already gone up, and Haruka and Satoshi were following when the nurse looked up.

"Satoshi-san. You have a call," the kind, red haired nurse called before he started to ascend. He looked towards Haruka and sighed.

"I'll see you up there," Satoshi said as the brunette nodded, continuing up. Satoshi walked over to the video phone the nurse had pointed to and sat down in the hard chair. With a few clicks of the buttons on the side, an image flashed onto the screen. His mother, Hanako, smiled when she saw her sons face over the phone.

"Satoshi! I'm so glad to see you!" Hanako grinned brightly, but Satoshi could tell that his mother was more than just happy. Satoshi could see tears well up her eyes, and he knew why. It pained him, but he knew he could do nothing to ease his mother's pain.

"I'm just glad I could find you! I had to check 5 other pokemon centers before I found you! How are you dear?" Hanako asked shakily, trying to keep up the slowly breaking smile. Satoshi hated it. He didn't smile back.

"I'm fine mom," he said softly. "You don't need to smile if you don't want to." Instantly, the woman's smile faded and tears began to roll down her cheeks. Satoshi wished he could be back home in Pallet, hug his crying mother. But he couldn't. He was now too busy and too far to be able to go home to Kanto so easily. But he also know he couldn't comfort his mother because he knew he was the cause of her pain. Because he was following in his footsteps on becoming a pokemon master. Because Satoshi looked so much like him.

But he wasn't him. He would never turn out like him. No matter what happened. He would never do that. Never leave. He wasn't like him. He refused to think that he could possible could be. He looked up at his upset mother.

"It's been eight years, huh?" his mother stated coldly. It was rare that she talked so angrily about someone. It only happened one day in the entire year. The anniversery that he left them. The anniversary he was taken away. Satoshi's hand went up to just below his eye, where he felt the deep scars.

He remembered that day. The screaming. The blood. The tears. The scent of alcohol. He felt anger build in his chest. But this wasn't the time or place to get angry. He needed to console his mother first.

"Yeah, it has," Satoshi mumbled into the reciever. He wasn't sure what to say.

"Satoshi?" Hanako's voice broke Satoshi out of thought. He looked up at the screen. "Promise me you will always be my baby boy?" Hanako asked desperately. Satoshi sighed. He knew he'd always be there for his mother, no matter what. And no matter how old he got, his mother would always treat him like he was still a five year old.

"Yeah. I will," Satoshi assured, giving a short answer. It was three simple words, but she knew he meant it. She gave a weak smile. She nodded slightly and stood up, still looking into the phone.

"I'm glad to hear that and that you're doing ok," she said, a little more cheerfully. "It's late so you better get some sleep. Good luck on your next match!" she wished to him. Satoshi smiled.

"Thanks Mom. Night," Satoshi said as he was about to hang up before she held out a hand to stop him. He paused, confused.

"One last thing Satoshi! Make sure you change your underwear! Night!" Hanako hung up and left a blushing, embarrassed Satoshi alone in the pokemon center. He laughed softly before putting the reciever back. He sat there for a moment in silence.

He stood up from the chair and turned to the sliding doors in front. He walked calmly out of the pokemon center into the chilly night. Once outside, he ran, tears streaming down his cheeks. It was all his fault. That his mother was so upset and scared. That he was scared of him. That every so often, he would have nightmares of him coming at him with the knife. That the past was carved into his face.

He kept running until he found small hill. The area was covering in hills, but this one hill was under a large tree and small wildflowers hid underneath. He climb to the top and where he was standing, he could see the entire sky, clear with bright twinkling stars. He sat down on the damp grass and hugged his knees in close to his body. He rested his head on his knee and silently sobbed as memories came back to him.

* * *

Haruka laid awake in the pokemon center's guest room. She and Satoshi were sharing a room while Takeshi took the other across the hall, but she had been up in the room for nearly twenty minutes and Satoshi still hadn't come up. She was beginning to worry that something had happened. She sat up and looked at the empty bed next to hers. Satoshi's Pikachu was curled up in a ball and soundly sleeping. She didn't want to wake it, so she quietly crept out of the room and lightly closed the door behind her. The girl walked downstairs and looked around the lobby. It was empty with the exception of a Chansey and a blond female trainer sleeping on a chair. There was no sign of the raven haired boy anywhere. Haruka noticed Nurse Joy walking out from her office and the girl ran up to her desk.

"Um, excuse me, Nurse Joy? The boy that was with me earlier, the one who had a phone call. Do you know where he is?" Haruka asked, trying to keep calm. With their luck, he could be captured by team rocket. It took the nurse a moment to recall the boy, but then she remembered.

"Oh, Satoshi-san? He actually just left a few minutes ago after he got off the phone," the nurse informed. Haruka nodded and ran out of the center, in search of her friend.

* * *

Satoshi had stopped crying, although he didn't bother to wipe away the tear streaks. Crying would solve nothing. He flopped back onto the grass, arms outstretched and looked up at the night sky. The twinkling calmed his nerves. His amber eyes slightly moved and caught sight of the full moon. It looked beautiful, but it didn't help the hole in his chest much. A crunching of leaves shook him out of his thought . He tilted his head back to see Haruka standing close to his head. She looked nervous, unsure if it was the right thing to come after him. He returned his gaze back to the stars, not really in the mood to talk to anyone.

"Are you going to come back inside anytime soon?" Haruka asked kindly. Satoshi shook his head. All he wanted right now was to be alone.

"Nah. I'm going to stay out here a bit longer," he told softly. Obviously, Haruka didn't understand that he wanted her to leave.

"Then, I'm going to stay out here with you. I don't want you to get a cold or anything," Haruka firmly decided. She sat down next to him, her head in her hands. She wasn't sure what was wrong with her friend, but she was determined to be there for him, no matter what. She gave him her warmest smile. Satoshi looked up at her and gave a small smile. Haruka noticed the dried tear marks and the sadness in the boy's amber orbs. She placed her gloved hand on his shoulder, before turning her attention to the stars above.

"Are you looking for anything particular up there?" the brunette asked. Satoshi wondered himself. He wished that the answers to all his problems were up there. He wished he could simply reach up and find a way to remove his memories. He wished. Maybe he did know what he wanted to find, but the idea was completely stupid.

"Do you promise that if I tell you, you wont laugh?" Satoshi asked his friend. Haruka nodded. He looked up at her. "A shooting star." he said hesitant. To his relief Haruka didn't burst out laughing or snicker. She simply smiled.

Satoshi felt the emptiness slowly leave his chest.

"Then tell me, what would you wish for?" Haruka asked him, curious, although she had an idea what it was. After all, it was Satoshi. It was either to be the greatest pokemon master in the world, or an all you can eat buffet.

"I want...to be the best. The greatest pokemon master that has ever lived," Satoshi said strongly. Haruka knew she had been right, and she inwardly cheered for figuring it out. However, he wasn't done. " I want to prove to someone I once knew...that I'm not a failure." Satoshi spoke soft that Haruka would have missed it if she wasn't paying attention. His words had completely confused her. His hand wandered back up to his cheek, finger tracing over the scars. Haruka placed her hand on his head and messed up his raven hair. He shot up annoyed.

"Hey!" Satoshi was blushing. He didn't like it when people messed up his hair, although it was always messy. It always made him feel like a kid. Haruka laughed, now leaving the boy confused.

"No one in their right mind would think you're a failure. Your mother doesn't think you're a failure. Takeshi and Masato either!" Haruka was shocked that anyone could think that Satoshi was a failure. "I don't think you are."

Satoshi couldn't help smiling. Now it was him time to laugh.

"So what would you wish for, then?" Satoshi asked, closing the space between the two. Haruka's face turned bright red and she turned her head away. She couldn't look him in the eyes after that question.

"N-no way I'd tell you!" Haruka stuttered, blushing. Satoshi cocked his head to the side. He poked her in the arm.

"Aw c'mon! You know you can tell me!" Satoshi pushed, interested. "Even if you don't tell me, I'll find out eventually!" This only made the Hoenn girl blush deeper. She shook her head wildly, and jumped up to her feet.

"You know, I'm kinda tired so I'm going to bed! Goodnight!" Haruka yelled as she had already begun to run back down the hill to the Pokemon center. Satoshi could help but laugh. He smiled and laid back down onto the grass, and he continued to gaze up at the stars.

_As long as he had his friends, he was sure that he would never be like him._

* * *

A/N: The ending sucked! Like I said, another version of the shooting star scene in Hidden chapter 10, and it is different in a lot of ways. Oh and here is what I have as the whole thing with Ash's dad. He left to become a pokemon master back before Ash was born. He in short disappeared from Delia's life for years and Delia assumed him dead. Suddenly one day he reappears and gets Delia pregnant. He leaves the same day and dissapears again. When Ash is five, his father returns as a failure. He stays but most of the time he's drinking. Its okay until he starts to become abusive. He says that if they do anything wrong, he'll kill them both. Gary is the only one who notices something wrong, but alas is too young to understand it and doesn't do much except comfort the boy. Finally, his dad is so drunk and snaps. He screams at Ash that he is a failure and will always be worthless. He takes a knife and cuts the into the boys face. His mother can't stand the sight and hits the man over the head with a pan and calls the police. The day that he had returned and the day he was arrested were on the same date. Delia is always scared that Ash will turn out like his father since they both look alike and Ash acts like his father did before he disappeared.

So yeah. I don't know. Well, please review! I thank you all!


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